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Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Book Review: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Unabridged, 24 hr. 19 min.

Macmillan Audio

Simon Slater (Narrator)

October 20, 2009

★★☆☆☆

Genre: Historical Fiction (literary fiction)

Source: Borrowed audio from Arleigh at Historical-Fiction.com

“England, the 1520s. Henry VIII is on the throne, but has no heir. Cardinal Wolsey is his chief advisor, charged with securing the divorce the Pope refuses to grant. Into this atmosphere of distrust and need comes Thomas Cromwell, first as Wolsey's clerk, and later his successor. Cromwell is a wholly original man: the son of a brutal blacksmith, a political genius, a briber, a charmer, a bully, a man with a delicate and deadly expertise in manipulating people and events.Ruthless in pursuit of his own interests, he is as ambitious in his wider politics as he is for himself. His reforming agenda is carried out in the grip of a self-interested parliament and a king who fluctuates between romantic passions and murderous rages.From one of our finest living writers, Wolf Hall is that very rare thing: a truly great English novel, one that explores the intersection of individual psychology and wider politics. With a vast array of characters, and richly overflowing with incident, it peels back history to show us Tudor England as a half-made society, moulding itself with great passion and suffering and courage.”

Alright, right off I’m going to tell you that I didn't really like this book like most others that I talk to, and there are quite a few reasons why, which I will elaborate on in a few lines. I have actually attempted to read this book twice. I had received this book for review back in 2009 and could not get myself past about page 30. Every time that I picked it up to read it I would find myself falling asleep. At first I thought it was because I was just tired at that time, but I would still have similar problems when I read it the second time. So I stopped reading it and gave it away to a fellow blogger.

Time elapsed – a year and a half passed – and I read so many awesome raving reviews of the book I thought maybe I had missed something. I decided I would think about trying it again on audiobook this time (a great narrator can really make a difference). Arleigh at Historical-Fiction.com offered to let me borrow her audio copy and I took her up on the opportunity. The second time around was better and I will give all of the credit to the narrator and audio production because I still didn’t love the story.

I had a difficult time staying interested in this novel because it never felt like anything was happening. I have been told that this is a hallmark of literary fiction – which focuses more on style and characters – and if that is the case, I guess literary fiction is not for me. I certainly like to have depth of characters and well written prose, but I want to know that over the 600-ish pages there are plot points and excitement and in general, things that happen. I learned a lot about the character of Thomas Cromwell, who was relatively new to me and often serves more as a periphery character in other’s stories. He was also portrayed as more of a sympathetic character as opposed to the mostly negative depictions of him in other works of literature. I didn’t like the point of view – everything was “he”, “he”, “he” – and at several points I totally lost track as to who was being described. I also felt that the ending was very abrupt – I was waiting for the story to wrap up, but apparently that wasn’t meant to be.

Also, my biggest question, what the heck is up with the title? They never went to Wolf Hall, nothing happened at Wolf Hall, nothing critical related to Wolf Hall happened, and the only connection to it (Jane Seymour) was a minor character. If someone could explain this to me I would be very grateful.

★★★★☆

Now, the audio production on the other hand, was quite good. The narrator did a fabulous job of portraying different characters, accents, female characters, etc. He even had to do a little singing at one point. There were some very minor sound effects used in the production – the one that stands out most in my mind was the use of a lute-type instrument during the singing portion. It certainly added to the experience. I can safely say that this book would have remained a DNF if I had not chosen to listen to it on audio. The narrator was the saving grace for me.

If you would like to preview the story before reading it (and I recommend that you do), why not try out this excerpt of the book?

I admit--I've read other works by Mantel and was left rather unfulfilled. About the title--I swear this was released under a different title somewhere else that maybe made more sense? Thanks for this review--I'm glad I'm not alone in my lukewarm-on-Mantel experience :)

My theory on the title (which has been the same since the beginning) - it's symbolic in a couple of ways. Wolf Hall is the family seat of the Seymours, which represents Cromwell's forward-thinking attitude (he's got his eye on Jane at the end). Plus it shows the rapaciousness of the royal court, where one can be torn apart by enemies with little warning. Try going to Google Books, look up Wolf Hall, and search for "wolf" or "wolves." Quite a few deliberate mentions in the text, though easy to miss otherwise.

You're not the first blogger I've read who's been underwhelmed by this -- it's low on my TBR from all the praise but perhaps I'll try another Mantel or save this for a roadtrip and do the audio, per your recommendation.

I hate when you stumble across a book you wish you could love, but can't. I'm having that same issue with one of my current reads. It's not like you hate the book, but you just don't like it either. Better luck on your next review though!

WOLF HALL is on my TBR List, but not high up. I have heard such good reviews, but obviously not everyone loves it. I feel obligated to finish a book when I start it. The only one I didn't manage was WAR AND PEACE. I started it 3 or 4 times in college and never got past page 80 or so. Since then I have finished everything with hopes that it would get better. Literary historical doesn't need to be dry. They are using the same information everyone else uses to write fiction.I'll give the audio a try. I have "read" and enjoyed many books that way. A good narrator puts the extra touch that can bring a book to life.

About Me

Heather, 27, USA. Hi everyone! I started my blog, The Maiden's Court, in May 2009 as a creative outlet for my reading and it has completely taken me to new places. I love sharing my reading and the things that I learn.

On my blog you will find my honest reviews of historical fiction books, historical movie reviews, and interesting historical content among other things. If you would like to know more about me, check out the About Me. Feel free to contact me at any time - best way is to use the contact form at the bottom of the Review Policy page or email me at dolleygurl[at]hotmail[dot]com.

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